Claire-Bear in "The Bear"
Thoughts on exactly what the hell Claire was doing in The Bear S2
Last week the second season of one of my favorite shows ever, The Bear, dropped on Hulu. After watching the new season in one sitting, then promptly going back and rewatching the entire show, I have a few thoughts. Roughly 95% of them somehow relate back to the internet’s most wanted, Claire.
Besides the discourse about whether Carmy and Sydney will ever become an item (just for the record, I firmly believe they will), Claire was perhaps the other major point of discussion this season. Mostly, she was the recipient of a lot of ire online. She has her stans, but most people seem to find her character a bore. The fact that she took Carmy and his focus away from the restaurant and that her character really didn’t fit the show like most character do didn’t win her many supporters.
Although, I don’t particularly care for her character, I think most of these critiques miss what her actual purpose in the show was. Especially upon second viewing, it became very clear to me that all of these so-called “problems,” with her character were actually an intentional choice by the writers. All the things about Claire that make her frustrating are all in service of revealing more about Carmy and his inner desires.
When Carmy and Claire meet for the first time this season it takes him a few moments just to remember her name. A small detail, yes, but also very telling. Carmy and Claire haven’t spent much (or possibly any) time together since they were kids. In between then and now Carmy built and then left a whole other life and career in New York. No matter how strong his adolescent crush on her was, she is buried in the recesses of his mind with the rest of his old life. Well, except after this meeting, she isn’t.
The speed and intensity with which Carmy and Claire’s relationship deepened was almost whiplash inducing. The first time I watched the season I thought this was just a consequence of watching it all unfold in one sitting. But, during my rewatch I realized their relationship had actually gone from zero to 100. They have their first kiss six weeks before the restaurant opens, Carmy tells Fak about how he “really loves her,” with about two weeks left, he calls her his girlfriend for the first time one week before open, and Claire leaves him that voicemail telling him how much she loves him and is proud of him on opening day. I mean, weird, right?
Regardless of whatever history the two share, that’s just a little fucking insane, no? More importantly though, it feels unearned. There are plenty of scenes (arguably too many, but I digress) between the pair but nothing that seems to add up to this grand love and connection they seem to believe they have. Even moreso, we never really get to see Claire be…a person? Most of the time she just felt like a plot device programmed to create conflict between Syd and Carmy, dispense a flirty joke here and there, and provide an unending stream of love and support for Carmy. In fact she was so perfect, so supportive, so altruistic (I mean, they even made her a doctor. Also, in the Christmas episode when Mickey and Richie are trying to get Carm to go out with Claire they literally refer to her as “a saint.”) that at some point while watching I found myself thinking that she almost came across as a figment of Carmy’s imagination. Then I realized; that’s kinda the whole point.
Last season we got glimpses into Carmy’s past and his self-destructive habits, and this season even moreso. Carmy’s monologue during the last episode of season one and the entirety season two’s sixth episode lay out very clearly why Carmy moved to New York in the first place and began isolating himself from his family. A huge reason for his decision to leave, undoubtedly being his mother. Her alcoholism has clearly been a destructive force in the life of Carmy and his siblings, and Claire is clearly aware of much of the Berzatto family’s struggles.
During the party scene in episode five Claire is joking that she has a lot of experience dealing with sad drunk people because of her college years spent as a sorority sister. Carmen responds by saying that he has experience doing the same, to which Claire says solemnly, “I know you do.” The obvious subtext here is that they’re talking about Carmy’s mother.
Obviously it’s not surprising that Claire knows Carmy’s mom is an alcoholic given that she is supposed to be a close family friend. But, it does make me think back to other interactions between the two of them. Many of their conversations (maybe the majority of them) in some way reference their childhoods. We don’t see them talk much about anything else, except for maybe the restaurant. Additionally, Claire seems to understand Carmy in a way that is probably rare for him. Early in the season when Carmy goes to an Al-Anon meeting he says that he has trouble opening himself up to new relationships because he finds himself waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then, in episode eight, while in his apartment with Claire, Carmy is trying to explain to her his warring feelings about their relationship. He tries to explain his reluctance then trails off before Claire finishes his sentence, mirroring what he said prior, by saying that she knows part of him is waiting for “the other shoe.”
For Carmy, as someone who has great difficulty with communicating, having someone who already knows so much about him must be a godsend. And that’s exactly what Claire is meant to be: almost like a beautiful gift from above. Claire is a character lacking in complexity or flaws because if she had any it would shatter the facade of who she is meant to be. Claire is meant to represent everything that Carmy is supposed to want/possibly could’ve had if he’d never gone to New York. She is a symbol representative of Carmy’s wants, his regrets, and maybe a chance at the love and safety that has been so missing from his life.
However, the problem is the type of life Carmy has, or more aptly, the type of person Carmy is isn’t conducive to a life with Claire. In his own words, Carmy is “a psycho.” Perfection is what drives him, and in the past, in order to achieve that perfection he has cut himself off from others so that his sole focus is his craft. Carmy getting trapped in the freezer in the finale was a direct result of him blowing off his responsibilities this season. His distraction was, yes, a result of his relationship, but more so a product of his own neuroses. Carmy’s mind seems to deal in absolutes and he can’t operate with anything less than absolute focus.
Ultimately I think Claire was designed to help the show explore these destructive parts of Carmy. Even when presented with someone as seemingly perfect as Claire, he can’t stay in the relationship. Partially because he finds it hard to accept love, and also because the life he has chosen for himself makes relationships close to impossible.
All that being said though, as much as I love this season and understand what Claire was meant to accomplish, I don’t know if she actually was necessary. I mean, I think from the beginning of the show it is very clear that Carmy is willing to drive himself to the edge of his sanity in pursuit of his goals. I don’t think anyone watching Claire and Carmy’s relationship was under any pretenses that they could possibly work. It was always a matter of when, not if, they’d break up. Also, I think the episode that gives Carmy (and really all the Berzatto’s) the best development is inarguably episode six, which Claire isn’t even in. Ultimately, I’m not sure that her actual impact justifies her large amount of screen time. But again, I see what the writers were trying to do.
Other thoughts on this season
I loved that Natalie got more of a spotlight this season. I love that the sibling relationship between her and Carmy, as well as the void that Mickey left and how it affected her specifically, was explored. (Also, I love Pete so much!!! He’s literally the only normal person in this entire show.)
Tina’s development across the entire show has been amazing. I love that receiving recognition and being given a purpose was the catalyst for her transformation.
Where the hell was Ebrahaim for 90% of the season? I feel like they were setting up such a beautiful arc for him in the early episodes with his apprehension of going to culinary school. I feel like exploring his fear of being, in a sense, an old dog who couldn’t pick up new tricks, would be pretty stirring.
During episode six it was very interesting to see the way Uncle Lee called out Mickey. Up until that episode, most of our knowledge about Mickey came from people like Carmy, Richie, and Tina who loved him immensely and were actively grieving him. Of course we knew that he was a drug addict with somewhat erratic tendencies, but that was always underscored by the idea that he was a good guy. But, to see Lee literally refer to him as “a loser,” and publically call out Mickey’s drug use was jarring, to put it one way.
Although I stand firmly with everything I’ve said so far about Claire’s character, I just have to say that her dialogue was so cringe inducing. Like when she was talking to Carmy at the store and he didn’t believe she remembered the name of the restaurant and she said of course she remembered because “You’re ‘the bear’ and I remember you.” I could literally throw up. I understand what they were trying to go for, but I think they overindulged themselves a little.
All the guest stars were amazing, Jamie Lee Curtis’ performance was obviously great, but personally my favorite person to watch was Jon Bernthal. If there’s anyone I want to see return next season it’s definitely Will Poulter as Luca. His chemistry with Marcus was palpable and his history with Carmy makes him compelling.
Obviously there’s a lot of debate on whether Carmy and Sydney are meant to eventually become love interests for one another. All I’ll say is that for me, the obvious answer is yes. Honestly don’t understand how after watching season two you can be blind to that.